1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an improved bottle opener, and more particularly an improved bottle opener which is multi-functional and efficiently draws a cork from a bottle.
2. Description of Related Art
Bottle openers have been invaluable tools for many years, and enable content-preserving elements such as corks to be removed from containers so that people may enjoy their drinks. However, many of the prior art bottle openers have drawbacks which are as listed below.
A first prior art cork screw (80) is shown in FIG. 12 and includes a handle (81) and a helical coil (83) secured to the handle (81). To extract a cork from a bottle, a distal tip of the coil (83) must first be centered in a top face of the cork, which in itself is not easy. If the centering is not done correctly it may lead to the coil (83) penetrating a side of the cork whereby the cork may disintegrate when pulled by a user. Once centered, the coil (83) must be screwed into the cork until an appropriate depth of penetration is reached whereafter the corkscrew is pulled away from the bottle in the hope that the cork accompanies it. However this accompaniment is frequently not the case for the following reasons:
1. the cork's friction against the turning coil leads to the cork itself overcoming its grip within the bottle neck, and so complete penetration by the corkscrew is not achieved; PA1 2. the first downward force to penetrate the cork is often excessive, as is the upward force to extract the cork whereby a lot of stress is incurred by the cork, which then often disintegrates; PA1 3. excessive force on the corkscrew is transmitted into only the cork, whereby the cork may be pushed unintentionally into the main body of the bottle, resulting in considerable difficulty in pouring all the contents of the bottle therefrom.
The above three drawbacks are not only inconvenient for a user of the corkscrew, they also lead to considerable embarrassment as failure to open a wine bottle may be viewed as social incompetence by some people.
A second prior art corkscrew (90) is shown in FIG. 13 and includes a body (92), a helical coil (94) with a handle (96) at a top thereof, and two levers (98) rotatably receiving the coil (94) and pivotally attached to the body (92). The body (92) has a circular opening sized to abut a top of a neck of a bottle, yet through which a cork can pass. In operation, the opening is mated with the top of the bottle and the levers (98) are raised to an uppermost position. A distal tip of the coil (94) is placed on the center of the cork and then both downward and twisting forces are applied to the handle (96) whereby the cork is penetrated. Once the required depth of penetration is reached, the handles (98) are brought downward whereby distal lips thereof urge against the top of the bottle and so the cork is usually drawn out of the bottle. However, again inappropriate force on the cork may result in pushing it into the bottle, and rotation or disintegration of the cork.
Thus, there is a long and unfulfilled need for a multi-function bottle opener which is easy to use, and prevents rotation and damage to a cork to be removed.